Up before dawn and great night out with friends

Today ended up being an oddball day, at least for the first part. I heard J crying this morning and it turns out that it was 5:30 in the morning. I have to say I don't think he's been up that early since he was sick once in March. Otherwise, he's never up this early. (What a blessing too.) He wanted to get up and I was just exhausted. (I wasn't so good about reducing my computer "consumption" time last night, and wasn't in bed until around 12:30.) So the day got off to a very weird start where I felt half asleep and J was wide awake. I got comfy on the recliner couch and put a video in for J while I tried to read the newspaper. I was so tired I could barely focus and I think I was dozing on and off for a while. At one point J had gotten out his animal and dinosaur figures and started lining them up along my legs. The whole time he was doing this he was talking for them, but it was hard to capture what he was saying. I really wish I could've grabbed my camera to show this long line of animals on my stretched out legs! After breakfast, I noticed J was lying on the floor with his blankie so I asked him if he wanted to go upstairs on the big bed and snuggle with mommy. He wanted to bring his little animal figures, crayons and coloring book so finally I just grabbed a bin so we could put it in there and then he threw in a few books too. So J and I settled into my bed and he played while I caught up on some restful reading. I didn't end up showering until noon!

After lunch, we needed to go get a gift for my nephew's birthday. We'll be going on a little trip down to Chicago for his birthday party this weekend. I was starting to get ready and grabbed the diaper bag and put it by the door. Right away, J says "Where are we going? We're going on a trip." I said that we were going to get a gift for Blake's birthday this weekend. J says, "We're going to Toy Story?" I said, "No, Toys-R-Us." This made me laugh because this morning I was telling L what was on our agenda and how I wanted to go to Toys-R-Us for Blake. J must've been listening. First, we stopped at the Family Christian Store to look for part of Blake's gift. I prayed in the car since I had no idea what to get him, a 7-year-old. I ended up finding what looked like a really cool card game based on the stories of David, Moses, Jonah and Noah called Story Chasers. I hope it's something he'll like.

This was my second time going to Toys-R-Us with J and I realize it is not very fun. Unless I would blindfold him or something, it just isn't good to be in the land of temptation like that. He whines and cries and constantly asks for this, that and the other thing. It's also really hard for me (the temptation to buy). I see so many things that would be neat for Tot School and play time so I almost need to close my eyes too. On our way in, J saw the Bob the Builder ride and really wanted to go on it. I told him we'd go on our way out. I wanted to get a puzzle for my nephew and saw some really neat Melissa and Doug puzzles. They had a special buy one-get one half off so I got one for my nephew and then yes, got this really cool 24-piece dinosaur one for J. He kept asking to go on the Bob the Builder bulldozer so he wasn't forgetting about that. I kept good on my promise on our way out and he climbed in. I was starting to wonder if maybe it didn't move and then I finally saw where you put the coins in. J was so excited and surprised once it started moving but super let down when it was over and, of course, wanted to go again. Since I did want my camera, I made a deal that we'd go to the car and put the bags in and come back for one more ride. Then he just didn't want to leave, even after it stopped moving. I had gotten too close to nap time and I had to carry a crying J out of the store. He fell asleep in the car and I carried him like a baby into the house. I just love holding him like this the few times I get the chance.

After J's nap, we had a fun night out meeting friends at Red Robin for dinner. I've forgotten about this place and how kid-friendly it is. We used to go there sometimes before J was born, but tonight was his first time there. Once we sat down, he asked for his coloring book right away and got to work coloring. He is so intense and serious when he colors. He really gets into it. It was great catching up with our friends Hans and Sharon. Sharon teaches preschool so we had a ball talking about J and where's he's at and what he can do. She loved just watching him and our interactions. She always makes me laugh so hard and brings out my goofy side. I let J out of his high chair when he got antsy and I turned and he had this huge smile on his face like "I'm so proud of myself." So he had done the buckle on the high chair for the first time. We found out kids can get a balloon so J was really excited about that and picked out a blue one and played with that for a while. Then he was playing with the marketing display on the table which was a little stove (advertising a cook book). So we took the coasters and pretended they were pizzas and set them on the little stove. He loved playing this and starts walking out with it when we were leaving so I told them my son fell in love with the display and they let him have it. That beats having to buy an expensive kid's kitchen set! He did really well with very few upsets since we had a lot to keep him occupied. It was pretty late when we got home, but J was still rambunctious. Hard to believe after getting up at 5:30am. He is really good though, and all I had to say was, "It's time to brush teeth" and he came right into the bathroom and off we went into his bedtime routine.